GN-001 Gundam Exia
The GN-001 Gundam Exia (aka Gundam Exia, Exia, '' Gundam Seven Swords), is the close combat Gundam featured in both seasons of ''Mobile Suit Gundam 00. The unit is piloted by Setsuna F. Seiei. Technology & Combat Characteristics A 3rd-Generation Gundam, Exia is designed to be a close quarters combat (CQC) type mobile suit (MS). The unit is the successor to GNY-001 Gundam Astraea and one of the predecessors to GN-0000 00 Gundam. Much of Exia's design was heavily influenced from the Astraea. What this means is that even though Exia's weapons are specialized for CQC, its basic performance is still that of a general purpose mobile suit. This is mostly evident as Exia only Gundam out of the four main 3rd Generation units that retain a MS frame that has human-like range of motion. The lack of this range of motion on the other three units is not considered a weakness but rather because it was deemed unnecessary. Gundams (and by extension other GNMS) benefit benefit from the weight reducing effects of GN Particles.Master Grade 1/100 GN-001 Gundam Exia manual In addition to reducing the overall weight of the MS, this effect can also be used for weight alteration of various body parts. One can this freely control the suit's inertia, influencing cornering ability when it is in the airborne. In space, this ability is transformed into Active Mass Balance Auto Control (AMBAC). As such, the legs do not really need to "walk" when moving. As Exia was designed as a close quarters unit, there is need for its movements to be as human-like as possible. In order to achieve this, Exia was designed with joints that have the same range of motion as a human. To ensure that Exia's range of movement is not affected, its armor is seperated into much finer pieces than the other Gundams. This trait also means that portions of the internal structure is revealed during certain postures. Although this lowers Exia's overall defensive ability, its served Exia as it has the lowest "being hit" rate among the four main 3rd Generation Gundams. Externally, the most eye catching feature of Exia is he numerous purple cables on its body; especially the cables that extends from the shoulders to the arms that are not present in the other Gundams. Named GN Power Lines, their main purpose is to transport large amounts of GN Particles to and from various parts of the body. As Exia frequently engages the enemy in close quarters, its higher amount of exposed cables allows it to have finer posture control than the other Gundams. Like its exposed joints, this design has optimizes mobility at the cost of defense and is considered a danger. This weakness was later eliminated in the R2 variant as the GN Power Lines are internalized within the armor. Appearance wise, Gundams have heads that are human-like. In terms of use, the head of Gundams are said to be similar to a human brain as they both control the functions of the body. Exia's head design is kmodeled after the pilot helmet worn by earlier Gundam Meisters. This was done to cement the belief of the Meister being the Gundam. Third Generation Gundams like Exia also possess head antennas that control particle distribution, though most of the actual particle control responsibility is taken up by the antennas at the shoulders and neck. The head also has other head antennas that function as communication and sensor devices while at the same time also containing a blackbox device used for establishing a link with Veda. Its GN Condensers also can show visually the amount of particles it holds as well as the particle compression rate it is currently using. This ability is also used for secret communication with friendly forces. The total energy output of Gundams like Exia is extremely powerful compared to other conventional suits of the time. Billy Katagiri estimated that Exia has approximately six times the output of the Flag based on the impact damage analyzed Graham Aker's suit after his first encounter with Exia.Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1 Episode 3 "The Changing World" When extreme firepower and defense is needed, Exia can receive combat support from GNR-001E GN Arms Type-E and the Assault Container. The GN Arms Type E itself is a customized transformable fighter, with mid-range beam weaponry and melee weapons themed after Exia's weapons silhouette. When greater power is needed, Exia and GN Arms can combine to become a mobile armor. Exia's GN Drive docks right into the MA to power the weapons platform. If a situation arises where greater speed is needed, Exia can be equipped with its own specialized armor, the Avalanche Pack, which would be later upgraded into the Avalanche ` Pack. The Assault Container works on conjunction with the GN Arms and Exia as a miniature armed MS carrier. It was designed to dock both Exia and GN Arms for atmospheric entry and exit missions. It's heavily armored and has enough fire power to match an entire ESF battlefleet. In addition, the Exia's extension cone chassis possess an ability that can temporarily increase the output of the equipped GN Drive and the ability of the suit temporarily in "burst"-like mode. However, this ability was rarely used as it is considered unstable however it was seen to be used in its upgraded form, the Exia Repair II.Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season Two Episode 25 Rebirth Exia's overall capabilities can be enhanced through the power of the Trans-Am System. Armaments ;*GN Beam Sabers :Mounted on the back of the shoulders. The beam saber is a hilt with the ability to activate beam blade by generating a positron field filled with GN Particles.300 Years Later sourcebook While the beam saber has a high power rating, one disadvantage is that their performance can be decreased by surrounding atmospheric conditions or methods of beam diffusion. ;*GN Beam Daggers :Attach to Exia's waist, the GN Beam Daggers shares the same basic system as that of the GN Beam Sabers but are adjusted to have a shorter blade length that makes them harder to diffuse.HG 1/144 GN-001 Gundam Exia manual Setsuna has developed a habit of throwing them at distant enemies while in combat. This weapon type became obsolete in the future as the ability to manipulate beam saber length blades was achieved. ;*GN Long Blade & GN Short Blade :Named as GN Long Blade and GN Short Blade respectively, these are Exia's customized solid swords that differ in size from the main GN Sword and are the weapons that had the longest development time among all of Exia's armaments. Because the GN Sword has difficulty doing damage without a certain amount of swing and space due to it's sizeMobile Suit Gundam 00 Season One Episode 3 The Changing World, these were designed in order to give the Exia solid blades that can be used in a variety of situations that the GN Sword has difficulty with. They were stated to possess the ability to cut through 2 meters of conventional E-Carbon armor.Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1 Episode 6 "Seven Swords" Like the GN Beam Daggers, Setsuna occasionally uses the GN Short Blade as a throwing knife.Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1 Episode 19 "Bonds" ;*GN Shield :A shield mounted on Exia's left arm that is made out of extremely strong and durable E-Carbon While generally useful, there are some questions raised about the need of a shield as it is made of the exact same material as of the body's main armor. On the surface of the shield, a GN Field can be generated that would confer better defenses to the user. As long as Exia continues to receive GN Particle energy supply, conventional weapons would not be able to penetrate the GN Shield. The shield also possesses an "expansion" mode where the left and right blue sections move outwards and increase the defense area the shield covers, but the drawbacks of this mode are increased particle consumption as well as a decrease in the overall defense property of the shield due to the increased area that GN Field element covers. Although the shield is extremely effective against conventional weapons, its strength is not enough to defend against stronger attacks such as GN beam weapons and as a result, has been destroyed by these attacks on a few occasions.Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1 Episode 25 "Setsuna" ;*GN Sword :A solid GN blade attached to a miniature forearm shield, which serves as the Exia's primary weapon, and the largest blade amongst the Seven Swords. It works by applying GN Particles over the solid sword which greatly increases the sharpness and cutting power though the sword can still be used when there are no particles applied to it. Although the blade is considered to have great destructive power, there are situations where it cannot be used due to its size. The GN Sword can also be used in Rifle Mode, whereby the blade returns to its idle folded state exposing the muzzle of a beam rifle. The Rifle Mode was created to avoid the equipping of excessive armaments on Exia, and thus enchance the ease of movement which the unit's systems depend heavily on. ;*GN Vulcans :Small guns installed in both arms of Gundam Exia. Purely secondary weapons, these low powered weapons are equipped with main purpose of diversion. While the GN Sword's Rifle Mode has high power, it requires a transformation action and can't response instantly, thus the GN Vulcans were installed to counter this weakness. Though the power of their beams are weak, their high firing rate means that they can be a threat to conventional weapons that lack E-Carbon armor. This is also very useful when engaging small, fast, maneuverable targets such as GN Fangs and missiles. System Features ;*Optical Camouflage ;*Trans-Am System Variants *'GN-001 + GNR-001 GN Armor Type-E' *'GN-001/hs-A01 Gundam Avalanche Exia' :*'GN-001/hs-A01D Gundam Avalanche Exia`' *'GN-001RE Gundam Exia Repair' *'GN-001REII Gundam Exia Repair II' *'GN-001REIII Gundam Exia Repair III' History For Exia's history and exploits, please go to Setsuna F. Seiei's page. Picture Gallery Exia Front.jpg|Gundam Exia (Designer Lineart, Front View) Exia Rear.jpg|Gundam Exia (Designer Lineart, Back View) GN-001 - Gundam Exia - Front View.jpg|GN-001 Gundam Exia (Front View) GN-001 - Gundam Exia - Back View.jpg|GN-001 Gundam Exia (Back View) GN-001 - Gundam Exia - Beam Daggers.jpg|Gundam Exia w/ GN Beam Daggers Gn-001-rollout.jpg|Gundam Exia (Roll-out Colors) Front View GN-001 - Gundam Exia - Rollout Colors - Back View.jpg|Gundam Exia (Roll-out Colors) Back View gn-001-beamsaber.jpg|Placement / Design of GN beam saber gn-001-gnblade.jpg|GN Blade design gn-001-gnswordrifle.jpg|GN Sword design gn-001-gnshield.jpg|Exia's GN Shield gn-001-gnvulcan.jpg|GN Vulcan design gn-001-head.jpg|Gundam Exia Head Design. hjj7.jpg|G-Rooms #7 Gundam Exia LOL.jpg|GN-001 - Gundam Exia 123330.jpg|Gundam Exia Gundam War Card 136794.jpg|Gundam Exia Gundam War Card 144771.jpg|Gundam Exia Trans-Am Gundam War Card 148451.jpg|Gundam Exia Gundam War Card SD GN-001_Gundam_Exia.jpg|SD GN-001 Gundam Exia as it appear in SD Gundam G Generation Wars Exia Trans-am Mode Art.jpg|Exia Trans-am mode Exia 12321231.jpg Exia 46689665.jpg Exia 00950675.jpg img_01_l.gif| GN-001 Gundam Exia - Gundam War Fan Arts GN-001 Gundam Exia.jpg|Fan art CG of Gundam Exia, front view. GN-001 Gundam Exia Rear.jpg|Fan art CG of Gundam Exia, back view. Trans-Am_GN-001_Gundam_Exia.jpg|Gundam Exia in Trans-Am mode. GN-001 Gundam Exia Artwork.jpg|Fan art CG of Gundam Exia Over City wallpaper. GN-001 Gundam Exia Sky Wallpaper.jpg|GN-001 Gundam Exia Sky Descent Wallpaper Exia-tan.jpg|MS Exia Girl fan art by Komatsu Eiji Gundam Exia MS Girl.jpg|Gundam Exia MS Girl Gunpla gundam-exia-hcm-pro.jpg|Gundam Exia w/ GN Blades. 20080313215907-80100.jpg|Gundam Exia Roll-Out Colors w/ GN Blades. 14ad45fb295f0a.jpg|MG 1/100 - GN-001 Gundam Exia "First Type" 14ad45fc9e6673.jpg|MG 1/100 - GN-001 Gundam Exia "First Type" 14ad45fe6a867e.jpg|MG 1/100 - GN-001 Gundam Exia "First Type" 14ad4600302520.jpg|MG 1/100 - GN-001 Gundam Exia "First Type" MG - GN-001 - Gundam Exia - Boxart.jpg|MG 1/100 - GN-001 Gundam Exia - Boxart Exia-mg-ignition-mode.jpg|1/100 MG Gundam Exia Ignition Mode Boxart Mg-exia-trans-am.jpg|1/100 MG Gundam Exia Mode Boxart Notes & Trivia *Exia is derived from "exousia", the Koine Greek for "authority." *The damage the Exia sustains in Setsuna's battle against Graham at the end of the first season could possibly be a tribute to the RX-78-2 Gundam's Last Shooting and the ending stages of the 7th Space War which Lancerow Dawell's and Jamil Neate's units ( MAN-002 Febral and the GX-9900 Gundam X respectively) as they both lose their head and left arm in a battle against their rival character. *While the concepts were still in development for the show, Gundam Exia was codenamed "Pawn Gundam". Like the final version, Pawn Gundam was suppose to be a close range oriented machine and very little special abilities but it was not meant to possess the Seven Sword''(which was given to Knight Gundam or Dynames concept initially). Later in the series, the Pawn Gundam would get an upgraded powerup system of sorts ''(the idea eventually evolved into the Trans-Am system and would become standard feature in the finalised version). After it received its power-up ability, the Pawn Gundam would have taken the team leadership role away from Knight Gundam. *Exia is not listed in Gundam Memories: Tatakai no Kioku, while Exia Repair II and Avalanche Exia are listed. Both serve as "short" unit. *Strangely enough in Super Robot Wars Z2, Exia's primary weapon, the GN Sword, is the weakest among the seven swords. Articles & References HG 100 GN-001 Gundam Exia.jpg|HG 1/100 Gundam Exia - Weapons/Design Efefefef.jpg Gundam 00P Gundam Exia Roll Out Colors.jpg|Gundam 00P - GN-001 - Gundam Exia - Roll Out Colors - Development Report - Proto GN Sword Gundam 00P Gundam Exia Roll Out Colors 1.jpg|Gundam 00P - GN-001 - Gundam Exia - Roll Out Colors 33811133875226e3cb46o.jpg|Pawn Gundam, Exia's early concept design. On the right, the finalised Exia design. External Links *GN-001 Gundam Exia on Wikipedia.org *GN-001 Gundam Exia on MAHQ.net ja:GN-001 ガンダムエクシア